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My Baby Bites!

I had a hard time last night putting my youngest daughter, Cien, to sleep. It has never been my problem because I’ve been breastfeeding her for almost 10 months now. She had her first tooth when she was about to turn five months and the other three teeth followed. Just this week, my mom told me that there seemed to be another tooth about to pop out. And last night, it was confirmed! Because as we lied on the bed and started our breastfeeding session, I felt the sharp thing scrape my breast and then she started biting off my nipple.Ouch! It really hurt I have to shook her off because she don’t want to let go. After that I told her that there should be no biting anymore or else no milk for her. My baby just giggled and pulled me over to her and attempted to nurse on me again. She bit me more than three times and then I said that’s it. She should have her expressed milk in a bottle. But she just push the bottle and cried. I even tried to give her pacifier but to no avail.

I don’t want to wean her yet and I even told hubby that I want to breastfeed her until she turns two. But with her habit of biting, will I be able to take it for another year?

She fell asleep around 10pm, way too late than her usual bed time. Maybe she really got hungry that she finally accepted the bottle that she refused at first. She made herself busy with her Xylogel box and the next thing I knew, she was dropping her head from her pillow, the baby was finally asleep!

Because of that catastrophe last night, I googled every possible ways to cease her biting habit. For those mom’s who are in the same dilemma as mine, maybe this could help:

Let your nipples open for sometime after feeding so that they can dry in air.

Breast milk has wonderful natural healing properties of breast milk, so massaging a few drops of your onto your nipples several times a day can help.

Apply a pure lanolin ointment on your nipples frequently.

To make your baby stop biting, yell as if in pain and suddenly push his mouth away from the nipple, as soon as the child bites, so that the child can know from your reaction that biting hurts and not to do it again. Some babies are too sensitive and may get so shocked from yanking that they may not nurse or breastfeed for a while but even, they need to learn the nursing manners. –DONE

A breastfeeding journal can help you in figuring out what makes your child bite you, for example, hunger or sleep.

Some babies bite if they are too hungry, out of eagerness to satiate their hunger. In such cases, feed them more often.

As the child starts clamping his or her teeth on your nipples, craw him so close to your heart that the child’s nose gets covered. It will force the infant to open his mouth and breathe and stop biting. —DONE

You may also insert a finger in baby’s mouth and do not allow him or her to clamp the teeth by prying the jaws apart. –DONE

You may push baby’s lower jaw using your index finger for babies who have tight mouths and chomp on breasts. –-DONE

If the child persistently bites, stop nursing him or her as soon as soon as he or she starts biting for sometime.

Many children bite at the end of feeding, as ‘comfort sucking’. So, near the end, you may give frozen teething rings, bananas, and cold washcloths to your baby as teethers.

You may also need to use a nipple shield for a few days until your child stops biting

I’m not yet ready to wean my little Cien yet, so hopefully this tips will work on both of us. I’m more than willing to hear other tips from mommies out there so if you have one, drop me a line will ‘ya?